There are few cultural barometers that provide so telling a reflection on the times as sport. In the prosperous yet uncertain times of 1950s America, gridiron football and “America’s game” of Baseball were the focus, and fans were passionate, almost tribal, about their local team.
70 years on, the world is a very different place. The Super Bowl might still be the biggest day on the sporting calendar, but now it is almost as popular in the UK and Germany as it is in the US. Similarly, Americans have far wider sporting interests that are rapidly growing in popularity and could even challenge traditional American sporting events in terms of viewer numbers in the years to come.
Wimbledon’s tradition is a winner among baby boomers
It is easy to assume that changing sporting tastes come from younger generations, the millennials and Gen-Zers who represent the smartphone generation. However, our first example centers around older American sports fans.
When John McEnroe and Chris Evert dominated the game in the 80s, Americans developed a passion for tennis, and that has continued into the 2020s thanks to great American players like the Williams sisters. However, ask an American tennis fan to name the top tournament of the year and the answer will depend very much on the age of the fan.
While younger tennis fans enjoy the excitement and the electric atmosphere of the US Open, baby boomers have a different view. They prefer to devote three weeks in July to Wimbledon, a tournament steeped in tradition and formality. Due to the time difference, Americans can watch live coverage from early morning, unlike US Open games that often run late into the night. The grass courts, muted spectators and royal onlookers give the impression that Wimbledon and Flushing Meadows are separated by not just 3,500 miles but also about 50 years.
WSOP proves that anyone can be a champion
Egalitarianism is a hot topic in every sport. Tennis is a great example of a sport in which a great deal has been done in recent years to make it accessible beyond the white middle classes, but there is still much more to do. If tennis needs any inspiration, it needs only look at another sporting event that has been dominating the sports press more this year than ever before.
The World Series of Poker is the event that transformed poker from card game to pro sport, and this year is the 50th anniversary of it first being covered on TV. The showpiece for US poker fans is the World Series of Poker Main Event. In 1973, there were 13 participants, and this year, the organizers anticipate more than 10,000.
17 times, an amateur player has come out on top in the Main Event – this equates to an amateur winning one in three Main Events on average. That certainly explains in part why today’s American sports fans are so intrigued by the WSOP. It is an event that literally anyone can win.
This year is a particularly special one for Americans for a poignant reason. Doyle Brunson was one of poker’s great characters and came out of retirement one last time to play at last year’s WSOP. His passing last month at the age of 89 has left a hole in many American hearts, and there are certain to be several special events during this year’s tournament to honor his memory.
Joining the rest of the world in World Cup mania
Beyond US shores, the world’s most popular game is soccer – otherwise known as football across Europe and the rest of the world. The sport has grown in popularity in the US over the past couple of decades, and MLS commands viewer numbers that are not far short of American staples like gridiron football, basketball and baseball.
However, MLS is just another national tournament, like the EPL in the UK or Germany’s Bundesliga. The biggest sports tournament on a global scale is the World Cup and after years of giving it lip service, Americans are finally getting behind their team.
For a nation known for its patriotism, it is strange that American sports fans tend to follow local teams as opposed to their national representatives. That started to change during last year’s World Cup in Qatar, arguably spurred on by the USA’s battling performances against England and Wales that saw them through to the knockout stages. Expect to see the event’s popularity skyrocket when USA shares hosting duties with Canada and Mexico in 2026.
